A Breath of Fresh Air [Contract Search]

[Kari]

Night One
Near Raimei no Seika​

The sun had set not long ago; still, the fiery colours fought against the deep blue of night, clashing on the clouds present at the horizon, giving life to shades of purple artists could only dream of producing. The light of the high third-quarter moon and the few stars visible against the dim background lighting of the train dotted the sky and gave visibility just above zero. They were in the lowlands now, after roughly a half day ride; silhouettes of grasses and figures, with their brightly reflected eyes, zoomed by at an almost unobservable pace, blurring together. Distant lights and natural landmarks acted as mile markers in the otherwise vast, monotonous field.

She fidgeted in the leather seat, until she settled with slouching farther into it. It couldn't be long until they reached it: Raimei no Seika. What they were going to do was uncertain; what the significance of this place was was uncertain as well. Kimiko was entirely in the dark. Complying earlier with the Sennin's whim may have helped to some degree with that. Ultimately, it had taken a direct order for Kimiko to accompany Shinrya Kitsune. Officially, she was acting as a field assistant there. What she was really going to do was anyone's guess.

All of this in the name of "getting some fresh air." It wasn't even laughable; perhaps the Sennin was right, though Kimiko would never admit it to her, nor did she believe the Sennin really knew the last time she had actually left the village: not since she had joined the Academy. Eight years. She hadn't left to visit her mother's grave nor left for any kind of mission. She couldn't recall if this was what it looked like so long ago; it seemed an alien world to her. Had the scenery not been interesting, the ride gone smoother, and the train quieter, she may have found more interest in a book rather than the lowland's scenery.

There was a town they were approaching, it was illuminated as much as the others were. This one only differed in that we were approaching it. It wouldn't be more than a few minutes now.

Kimiko stretched her arms, bringing herself upright and immediately followed with a short yawn. "We're here," she spoke for what felt like the first time since they had gotten on the train, "what now?"

WC: 402​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

The trip had been an uneventful one, however it did seem as if Kimiko had been more intrigued by the scenery rather than a book (which she undoubtedly had brought with her). So all in all, it had been a good trip. Kitsune, of course, had her own motives for dragging the doctor all the way from Kumogakure to Raimei no Seika. Though she had remained silent about it, and excused the whole thing with “getting some fresh air”, Kitsune intended to give Kimiko the surprise of a lifetime. Her lifetime that is. ”Indeed we are” Kitsune replied to Kimiko and her astounding observational skills.

”Now come on, we’ve got a carriage to catch.” she added and guided the woman towards the carriage a bit away from the station building. Once they had boarded the carriage, Kitsune looked at Kimiko ”Y’know. I looked at your files. You haven’t done one single remarkable thing in the entirety of your career. So, you get to do something for once in your life. We’re going to a compound, about 10 miles out of town, and you’re going to meet some interesting people” she continued and grinned. The meeting would indeed be interesting, and Kimiko would likely be hugely surprised by it.

After an hour or so in the carriage, they had arrived at the seat of power in Raimei no Seika, the Shinrya compound. Where Kitsunes family lived. When they got out of the carriage, they were greeted by one of the servants hired to help out around the place, and they were guided to their own room. ”You get that bed, I’ll take this one“ Kitsune said and gestured to the separate futons on the floor. ”We’ll be called for whenever they’re ready for us, so you might as well begin unpacking your stuff.” Kitsune said as she was already in the process of making herself comfortable.

[MFT; WC: 315]

 

[Kari]

Night One
Raimei no Seika​

With the Sennin's confirmation, her own attention turned back to the vanishing background in the window. It wouldn't be more than a few minutes before the train came to a stop; the distant dim light of Raimei no Seika was steadily growing in size. Still though, it appeared nothing special from where they were; prior to approaching it, it was a distant light like any other; surely, as often as not (perhaps moreso) it was nothing more than a mile marker as one made their way from the lowlands. The final colours of the evening were hidden from them as the train turned; it was dark. Silhouettes of distant mountains and hills broke the horizon now; save for the blurry grass, it was difficult to see anything around.

There was only silence between the two until the train finally came to stop at the town. Or more specifically, a small station building connected by only a dirt road that appeared to have seen plenty of use not far out from the place. The building was a minuscule; room for no more than three people side-by-side, with a window showing into it and with a desk inside where one could join a queue for tickets. It had an extended roof with few wooden benches for people to wait on the train; it seemed like the locomotive was meant for pedestrian usage rather than being restricted to only military, yet so few seemed to use it. There were no more than ten people on the train that Kimiko had noticed, all had gotten off here.

Kitsune was already standing, and ready to go; there was a carriage waiting for them, apparently, despite being so close to the town. "Right," she answered, lifting herself and following the medical Sennin's lead. Outside, in contrast to the silence within, outside was deafening; Kimiko moved herself away from the locomotive as fast as she could without running and waited on the other side of the building for Kitsune; the carriage was immediately in front of her. It was perhaps the most inelegant thing of the night: it was a simple one-horse buggy; an older, balding man wearing a suit was at its front, waiting. Beyond him: farmland as far as the eye could see; was this what the "grasses" she saw were? Newly sprouting plants? It made a bit of sense, and wasn't necessarily surprising, but the idea of it being so much was amazing. Even when she helped her mother on that farm as a child, one that large (which she had thought was massive in and of itself) wasn't any fraction on the farmland of this area.

The Sennin finally made her way past, and onto the carriage, Kimiko following suit and the man took off towards the town. The Sennin just stared at her for a while; while she wasn't necessarily facing the the Shinrya, she could feel her eyes on her. Perhaps the silence had gotten to her. She finally spoke.

"I -- " she was completely caught off guard by the comment. Nothing remarkable. It certainly was true, but to be told that directly still stung, in truth. She had her reasons for not wanting to risk her life; she wasn't the exception sixteen-year-old-turned-Chief nor some kind of protagonist from the story of shinobi life in Kumogakure. She was just someone who happened to be capable of using medical jutsu properly. She wasn't supposed to be exceptional, there were plenty that weren't and none of them were paid any mind; why couldn't she be? "Thank you for being so kind as to notice my performance," was the only thing she could think to say.

Not another word was said for the ride. Perhaps that was for the better nothing were; Kitsune was obviously mal-contented with her for her only average work ethic, it seemed. The comment that came to her earlier was the calmest thing she could immediately muster; if she seemed hostile or acted out, trouble of some kind would surely follow. Silence, silence was definitely better, then.

Just before the town was their destination: some manor on a plot of land which hardly differed from the rest: majorly farmland, with few smaller shacks dotting the land. Workers' homes, likely. Not far off, off the road, was a larger building, against the light shining from its front were few figures waiting. She received a silent greeting, them taking what little she had brought and escorting her down the decorated halls of the building; they passed large rooms, filled with paintings and ornate furniture that appeared more like art than anything she had right using to rest. The room given to the two to rest was much simpler: not much more than the futons to sleep upon.

They wouldn't be doing anything tonight, it seemed; they had arrived late. Kimiko would respond only with a nod and comply, taking her stuff from the worker and dropping the bag of them onto the futon; soon after, she'd throw herself onto it as well, laying down lazily upon of it. A couple day's worth of clothing along with two books and items for hygiene. It was all fine together in a bag.

If they weren't doing anything else for the night, she'd take any sleep she could get.

WC: 883
TL;DR: A whole bunch of nothing.​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As there weren’t anything planned for the evening, the two went to bed and rested their bodies, both likely weary from their travels. It had taken quite a long time to get all the way here. The night was entirely uneventful and the following morning they were woken up by one of the maids that told them that the hot spring was ready for their use, and gestured for the two women to follow her. Kitsune sat up and stretched her entirely naked body enough to make a few joints and her spine crack. ”I’m not old, I’m crispy.” she said and laughed a little while slipping into the plain yukata provided.

A few moments later, they were at the springs, and Kitsune placed the yukata into a basket and proceeded to shower herself before getting into the onsen. The warm waters worked wonders on Kitsunes muscles and she sighed softly in delight. ”You should hurry and get in, the water is excellent.” she said to Kimiko and waved her hand as in to try and coerce the other woman to get in faster. ”You’ll probably end up needing it for what’s planned for later.” Kitsune added and smirked, knowing fully well what was coming.

Kitsune leaned back against one of the rocks making up the edge of the basin, and closed her eyes as she put the towel on top of her head and just generally enjoyed the warmth surrounding her. I should get an onsen at home… It’s so relaxing… she thought with a generally satisfied smirk on her lips. Y’know, Kimiko-chan, I’ve been thinking about your job at the medical branch. I think I’ll make you my assistant. If anything it’ll give you something to do that’s, y’know. Meaningful.
After their soak in the hot springs, Kitsune dressed in the kimono that had been laid out for her. It had the clan logo sown onto the back, and was lavishly decorated. One almost identical had been laid out for Kimiko, and she was expected to wear it. ”Hurry up and get dressed, they’re expecting us” Kitsune said to her co-worker and headed for the grand hall where the rest of the family were waiting for them with grand news. Specifically, news relating to the Shinrya bloodline. Had a new link been found? If so, huzzah, because there weren’t all that many Shinryas left.

[WC: 396]

 

[Kari]

The night passed quietly and without incident; Kimiko quickly found herself in a calm and dreamless sleep.

Day Two
Raimei no Seika​

Morning came; she had awoken later than she typically did; it was mid-morning and she may have continued her sleep had the house attendants not visited the two. They informed the two -- it seemed the Sennin had slept just as long as she did, lucky for that else she may've seemed lazier than she was -- a bathing area was prepared, all the while, wearing that same professional smile they had; honesty, she couldn't tell how they felt behind those poker faces. She paid no mind to the medical Sennin rising from where she had slept until the woman's back popped several times; it was disgusting, to say the least. Kimiko did what she could do to hide her disgust, emulating the maids' professional smile and responding with "of course," to the Shinrya's comment.

She soon followed behind the Sennin; what bathing area they had mentioned was far understated: it was a natural hot spring. Extravagant, to say the very least; what kind of place was this?

Then the whole bathing scene happened; they cleaned themselves, they soaked in the natural hot spring; Kitsune tried to force conversation and Kimiko responded sparsely, as she had for the entire trip. That was, until the Sennin forced a new job upon her: assistant. What did that even mean? That she'd be forced to come along on more trips like this? Still, she couldn't fight it, not here, probably not even back in Kumo. "Thank you for your consideration," she responded, slightly bowing her head.

Finally, they left the bathing area. "They?" Kimiko questioned. She had thought Kitsune was doing this for the sake of getting some fresh air; they were actually going to do work?

"Who're 'they?'" She followed along to find out.

WC: 312​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

”Well. To put it simply, you being my assistant would mean that you get to stick around the hospital and basically do more paperwork, rather than treat sick people. Should be right up your alley.” Kitsune said with a sly smirk and splashed water at Kimiko. ”Liven up, Kimiko-chan.” she said and grinned, while soaking in the warm waters.

-- A little later --

Kitsune ushered Kimiko into the grand hall where the rest of the family were already waiting, along with two familiar faces. They were the same two genealogists that had tracked Kitsune down, and revealed her lineage to her. Of course, that was after a visit from a certain Doctor.

”Ah! Kitsune-chan.” boomed the mountain of a man, sitting in the center of the lineup. It was the patriarch of the branch family: Shinrya Gozaburo. ”So glad you could make it out here in time. As I wrote to you in my letter, we’ve discovered additional links to your side of the family. Apparently, you had a younger sister. Her name was Namika. And according to what we’ve been able to discover so far, she in turn had a daughter. Named Kimiko.” he explained and gestured to a scroll in front of him, detailing the research the two genealogists had been doing.

Then it was Kitsunes turn to speak ”And you suspect that, the Kimiko you mentioned in her?” she said and gestured to Kimiko. Sure she had the red hair of a Shinrya woman, and she had the bust to match, but was she really a Shinrya? According to the research, she was. Kitsune turned to Kimiko ”Was your mother named Namika?” she asked her, only for one of the genealogists to speak up ”We’ve also discovered the last name taken by Shinrya-sama’s late sister. It’s Ieyoshi.” he said, thereby more or less cementing that Kimiko was in reality Kitsunes niece, and a Shinrya.

What would Kimiko do when put face to face with that bombshell? Who knew.

[WC: 332]

 

[Kari]

They had traveled into another part of the manor, a grand room that she had somehow missed when they had come. The walls were a dirty white, like marble -- was it? That'd be far too luxurious and expensive, wouldn't it? Cloud were more simple, weren't they? -- and on them hanged paintings similar to those that adorned the halls. There was a single table, massive in length; it was a hall meant for eating, for more than few people, it seemed. The house was by no means small: was this where everyone came to eat? In a place as rich as this?

She marveled at the grandeur of the place and it took some time before she noticed the two. The Sennin didn't tip her on the meeting nor the people before they began. She sat and nodded to the two men at the fore-front of the crowd -- one massive, fitting for the size of the house, if the size of this residence was all there was to it, and the other normal in stature. The large man was the one to speak; how great his voice was shook her a little. She had literally no recover time before she was shot at again: they knew her mother. She scanned the crowd; they looked sympathetic, happy, some as confused as she felt. They were trying to accept her as a part of them for some reason. What? No...

She was stunned. She couldn't process what they had said. That she was...a Shinrya? No, that didn't make any sense. Her mother was one of the Ieyoshi, she couldn't be. She couldn't! "I-I'm sorry," she cried, pushing herself from where she had sat just a moment ago.

She fled. From the manor. One of the workers tried to catch her in a grasp, but she knocked her down with a weak punch. She fled. From the grounds. She needed time to think. She needed time away. None of that made any sense.

Time felt like it wasn't passing at all. She was running; her lungs hurt. There was wild grass all around her; she was in a sea of it. Alone. She still ran. She wanted to be far away; she didn't want to be found, not yet.

She finally stopped after some time. Not because her lungs felt as though they were on fire; not because her legs had lost feeling; nor because she thought it was more wise to go back and listen to what they had to say. She stopped because she saw something so out of place in the sea of grass. An unnaturally blue butterfly flitted around the grass, searching for any kind of flower, searching for some nutrients where none existed. She was mesmerized by it.

She stopped to watch it. And then she realized she was lost.

WC: 472​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

The other Shinryas stood up, wanting to run after Kimiko, but Kitsune halted them with a simple hand gesture, only to get up herself, and run after Kimiko. Still wearing their yukatas, Kimiko surely couldn’t have run that far. Though she could’ve tore the side so she could run properly. Kitsune took a quick stop at her room to ditch the yukata and instead put on an outfit that’d allow for more unrestricted movement. After donning the new outfit, Kitsune dashed out the door and followed the tracks that Kimiko had made. She wouldn’t be hard to find at this rate, and Kitsune definitely had the speed advantage of the two.

Eventually Kitsune came upon a practically endless field of grass, with a trail leading into it. She must be near. Can’t have gotten that far, that fast. She’s never been out of the village before. And, haven’t really done anything physical in like… Ever.
Kitsune didn’t understand why Kimiko had just run away. It made no sense to her. But then again. It must’ve been tough to be informed that, hey, congrats, you’re part of a family of nobles. Oh, and the head of the family is your boss. And also your moms sister. Congrats.

She walked up to Kimiko, who was standing in the middle of the field, staring off into nothingness. ”Kimi-chan. You shouldn’t run off like that. It could be dangerous out here.” Kitsune said and put an arm around the other woman to try and assist her back towards the Shinrya Compound. Perhaps all she needed was some rest and relaxation? Kitsune didn’t know, despite all her studies of the human psychology. She certainly didn’t react like this when she was informed that she was apparently nobility. It had taken her by surprise too, but not this badly. Then again. She was warned in advance by her friend The Doctor.

[WC: 316]

 

[Kazumi]

[col]Contract Search: Fox

---

The narrator strokes an invisible mustache "Yes yes, it seems here your ticket is in order. Ahh, a fox? Yes yes, I do believe we have a few of those. Let me just see here" The narrator sticks their hand into a cardboard box and after a moment of fishing pulls out an adorable fox kit. "Ah, yes we do!" In a puff of smoke the fox and the ticket vanishes. "Well then... on with the show!"|You have found the Fox!

[/col]

---

A stiff breeze passed through the field of grasses, sending wisps of green debris dancing through the air as the green sea rolled and swayed in harmonious rhythm. The lone blue insect continued to flutter around, seemingly heedless against the wind which should have caught it in its invisible grasp. A few feet from the mysterious creature a small patch of the grass shifted out of sync with the rest, startled by an unknown disturbance near the ground beneath them. As the grass shied away, it suddenly stopped a foot from where the creature wistfully flew about.

The winds died downwards and the butterfly seemed as heedless off this as it was before. A few long seconds of silence passed before a small reddish brown figure hopped up out of the grass as it attempted to snap the insect in its miniature jaws. Only a split second passed between the leap and when they both disappeared into the grass, the butterfly no where to be seen. The grasses that shied away from the little creature continued to do so for a few seconds until the blue butterfly flitted out of the grass and flew its way up into the sky, having apparently escaped its captor. Before it flew more than a tree's height into the sky, the insect suddenly vanished leaving a only split second of wispy blue fire that dissipated as quickly as it had appeared.

Tentatively, a small fox head slowly peeked its way out of the grass as it looked over towards the humans, a expression of curiosity traced across its face. It continued to peer out at them, doing its best to remain hidden, although its attempts would likely be lost on trained shinobi. Upon any obvious sign of gaining their attention its head would suddenly disappeared among the tall grass, perhaps not wanting to gain any more attention than it already had.

 

[Kari]

She repeated the scene in her head a hundred times, speculating any number of ways that could have gone differently. She had made a scene. Why had she? It was information of her mother; it was the past she never talked about. Kimiko had been curious about it as a child: about where she had come from, who her father was, who her family was. Time and time again, she was denied any answers and grew out of the curiosity. She accepted that she didn't need to know her past; it had been years since her death, and she, too, accepted that. She hadn't reason for whatever it was she was feeling.

There was any number of ways that could have been handled better; she had disrespected the Shinrya clan -- the clan that she -- no, not she, her mother -- was a part of by running off. She couldn't accept it; she couldn't join them. She wasn't a part of that world; she couldn't be a part of that world. How was she going to say that? -- how did Kitsune find out? Why did she find out?

Her heart was racing, she became acutely aware of it not long after she had stopped running. She wanted to scream, she wanted to just leave this place. She wanted to run, run and never stop to some place where she didn't have to think about any of this. She couldn't return to the village, she was still under the pretense of being on a mission; she couldn't leave -- she'd be a criminal of the state. She was imprisoned here, and would have to deal with the Shinrya head on eventually. Why couldn't she bring herself to do that?

She strained herself to breathe in deeply; her lungs burned and she needed to cough. She wouldn't go back yet; behind herself the grass was matted down, leaving a clear and obvious trail to her location. It was more likely than not that they'd come for her sooner rather than later. Being free of them truly was impossible.

She was given little time alone; it was finally Kitsune who came to retrieve her. Kimiko didn't look to her, nor see her; she heard the steps against the grass, and moments later her voice, trying to chastise her. She didn't care about what danger was out here; she wanted to be alone. "I'm not a Shinrya," she answered weakly, pushing the Sennin's arm off of her own. Was she trying to say that to Kitsune or herself?

She waited, Kitsune wasn't forcing anything out of her yet. A strong breeze gusted over the plains, the green and yellow shimmered with it. From near them, a bug appeared. A butterfly that might've seen no attention were its colour not so far off. It was blue, unnaturally so. It fluttered from the ground to the tip of the grasses, then to the sky, far enough that it couldn't be seen. It was able to escape its problems by running; why couldn't she? It was so much easier that way, was it not? She didn't want to address why this was such a problem for her -- consciously, she wasn't entirely sure -- she just wanted to be free of it.

"And why do you care so much about finding out?" she finally asked.

A spectator was near them that was yet to be noticed. There was far too much else on her mind, first.

WC: 575​

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune blinked at Kimiko as she was asked why she cared so much. ”Well that’s obvious, isn’t it? I once thought I was alone in the entire wide world. So I’ve got an ongoing search to find if there are more family members I don’t know about. You are one of them.” she told the other woman before catching movement out of the corner of her eye. Kitsune turned around and looked right at where the movement had been, and saw a tiny fox. Internally Kitsune went “Kyaaa~.” because she adored cute little foxes. Well. And kittens, too. But being their namesake, Kitsune had a fondness of foxes.

”We’ve got company Kimiko-chan.” Kitsune said and pointed at the tiny fox. ”This is the first time I’ve seen a fox around here.” she noted and crouched down, trying to assure the little one that it was perfectly safe to come over. Kitsune meant it no harm, and Kimiko was likely too lazy to mean anything harm. It’s just so cute! she thought to herself about the tiny fox. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again. Kitsune decided to follow it into the tall grass, hoping Kimiko would follow as well.

 

[Kazumi]

Keeping low and out of sight, the grasses parted ways for a short while as a small unseen critter dashed off through them away from the pair. Another stuff breeze passed through the field, brushing the tops of the grass until the little one's movements were hidden long enough for Kitsune to lose track of where it had went off to. A few moments of silence passed until suddenly a voice spoke up from behind Kimiko. It was a woman's voice, friendly and full of youthful energy. "Oh, hello there! We don't see your kind-... erm... foreigners, around here that often." When they would turn around to see her they would see a woman that looked to be about their age wearing an outfit that was remarkably identical to what Kitsune herself was garbed in.

Her hair was pulled back in an light orange-red ponytail that hung over her shoulder, the tip of which abruptly turned white for the last few inches. She would give them a wide smile, looking slightly awkward, if not still friendly, in her mannerisms. "What brings you around here? Adventuring? Looking for a new den?" She didn't make any more towards or away from them. Either they must have been quite distracted or she was quite capable to have gotten so close without either of their notice.